CASE 3: THE UNIVERSITYCOMETH
Introduction
Life has never been better on campus. The most recent U.S. News and World Report rankings listed the LGU as the #1 land grant university in the country. Forbes ranked the business school in the top ten. There hasn’t beena student protest in three years. The last tenure line faculty search attracted1,000 applicants. Everything is humming. Faculty agree. All that is needed is a National Championship to top it off. Now THAT was a major disappointment last January. But a new coach and a new seasonwill turn that situationaround. But for one small detail. The state’s population is aging, and the percentage of the shrinking number of young people in the state going on to college is falling. An investigative report by the Capitol News found that the LGU admits fewer and fewer state residents. In fact, evenas the number going to college declines, the likelihood that a young person in this statewill become part of Panda Pride is falling. Lots of admitted students from out-of-state, few from in-state. The state legislature seems tohave read this article, even if they seemnot to read much else. House speakerWilliam “Wild Bill” Cane, Panda Pride ’85, is in a swivvet. He is calling a meeting of all legislators who are graduates forMonday. It is not just a matter of pride in the Pride, Wild Bill tells WBS on camera, what are we using our taxes for? We spend a lot of money on this school, believe you me, a lot of money. And every time Panda Pride asks for more, well, heck, we usually give it to them. Education is important. But where did we get that money? I’ll tell you where. From the people. From our hardworking families all over this state. Not families in some fancy pants shore community. No siree Bob. Families right here in our own state. We got to worry about our young people first. Let everybody else take care of themselves.
The UniversityPresident has been called to testify.
4-H
4-H membership is stagnant. Young people still tend to join in elementary school. Young children in 4-H number in the thousands. But by 6 th grade it is down to a few hundred. By high school, 85% have opted out. Positive Youth Development seems to be about younger youth, but certainly not about youth as they approach the period of decision making about their future. Within the LGU, 4-H might as well not exist. No 4-H director is eligible for tenure; all are categorizedas administrative or management staff. 4-H remains tightly tied to Extension at the LGU and within all of the counties. Extension itself is siloed, and largely seenas a “boots on the ground” programmatic or ganization, quite apart from the academy. The ExtensionDirector is tenured but looked down upon by the other academics in the College of Agriculture. The Chair of the Department just published his fifth book on agricultural economics and financial modeling. He has just been tapped to be part of an Advisory Group to The Real Dirt Capital, a new hedge
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